California Inclusionary Housing Policy Database
The California Inclusionary Housing Policy Database provides a geographic search capability for users seeking information about policies in specific regions or municipalities in California. The database, possibly the first of its kind in the US, is managed by the California Coalition for Rural Housing, and was developed by MT development partner CTC in 2008-09 thanks to funding from the S. H. Cowell Foundation. The database and associated website are built on the Drupal content management system, using GIS functionality supplied by Google and CTC's mapping software.
Fair housing policies, which are inherently geographical in nature, are perfect candidates for mapping applications and geographic interfaces. Users can view county-by-county maps displaying points for each city or township's fair housing policy. In addition to displaying simple points and data related to each point, this site was one of the first Drupal mapping sites to make extensive use of polygons, using them to define regions between the state and county levels as part of the search interface.
In addition to helping users easily find information about policies in certain areas, the maps generated by this site also tell a story about the evolution and prevalence of fair housing policies over various geographic areas, in a state where the cost of housing is always a top concern.
